Recipe - Bengal Lancers Shrimp Curry (Jhinka Masala)

Stephen Ceideburg
1 pound Medium shrimp, peeled,
deveined, tails left on
One half teaspoon Salt
One fourth teaspoon Turmeric
One half teaspoon Mustard seeds
1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
4 Whole garlic cloves, peeled
1 Halfinch piece fresh
ginger, peeled
2 Dried red chiles, stemmed
1 tablespoon Lemon juice
2 tablespoon Mustard oil or light olive
oil
1 cup Finely chopped onion
1 One half cup Chopped tomato
One fourth cup To One half cup water
Freshly cooked basmati or
longgrain rice

This dish was popular with the Bengal Lancers regiment around the turn of
the century. For a change of pace, try it over pasta or Indian basmati
rice.

Sprinkle shrimp with salt and turmeric. Toss well to coat; cover and set
aside for 15 minutes.

Combine mustard, cumin, garlic, ginger, chiles and lemon juice in a blender
and puree. Set aside.

Heat oil in a large heavy skillet over mediumhigh heat. Add onions and
cook until soft, about 3 minutes.

Add pureed spice mixture. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 5 minutes.

Stir in tomato and cook until soft. Add shrimp, stir gently to coat them
evenly.

Pour in the water and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.

Reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook until shrimp are just opaque, about
5 minutes.

Mound rice into heated serving plates. Spoon curry over and serve.

Note: Basmati rice has a distinctive nutty flavor. It is available at
Indian, Middle Eastern, some specialty food stores and supermarkets.

PER SERVING (not counting rice): 375 calories, 40 g protein, 15 g
carbohydrate, 17 g fat (3 g saturated), 279 mg cholesterol, 279 mg sodium,
3 g fiber.

Laxmi Hiremath writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, 6/24/92.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini